100 Greatest WWE WrestleMania Moments
40. Boneyard Lets ‘Taker Leave On A Cinematic High (WrestleMania 36)
Imagine stepping into a time machine, going all the way back to 2000 and telling people: 'Psst! The Undertaker's career will end in a cinematic match 20 years from now, and WrestleMania will be forced behind closed doors due to a global pandemic'. The first question most would have for you might be: 'What the hell is a cinematic match?!'. Their disbelief would be understandable.
This was never planned, but that's partly why the 'Boneyard Match' from 'Mania 36 was so refreshing. 'Taker and AJ Styles had to get seriously creative. Not only that, but the pair had to lay down a marker for what could be expected from WWE's soon-to-be obsession with cinematic bouts during the closed door era in 2020 and 2021. Everyone was flying by the seat of their pants with this one.
It was one million times better than some of Undertaker's latest in-ring disasters. Yes, his tag bout with Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon at Extreme Rules 2019 had been a scorcher, but other matches vs. Reigns, Goldberg, D-Generation X and more looked like they'd end his fascinating career on a lower note than WWE fans wanted.
Time for the good news.
'Boneyard' was epic. AJ's pals Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson got involved, so did a boatload of druids, and WWE went Hollywood fight scene to try and give 'Taker a worthwhile sendoff. His final 'Mania main event was barmy, but man was it ever fun to watch. This one had no right to be as entertaining and well-received as it was.